A "Speakeasy" on the 7th Annual Historic House Tour - Saturday, September 24!

Don’t miss the opportunity! 

Old houses tell wonderful stories, and the houses of Tredyffrin Township have many tales to tell. On Saturday, September 24, the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust’s 7th Annual Historic House Tour will open doors to Tredyffrin’s past.  The tour will spotlight Tredyffrin’s neighborhoods by opening the doors to eight grand historic homes. Featured houses span 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and offer visitors an opportunity to experience Chester County history through original, restored and historically significant homes.

One of the stops on the House Tour will be Tivoli Farm in Malvern.  Much of the early story of this historic property involvers the efforts of the Gretz family, a Philadelphia Beer Baron family, that today still makes its name in the beer business, being the Anhueser Busch distributor for the four counties surrounding Philadelphia.  

With the advent of Prohibition, the Gretz famly had to leave the brewing business.  They turned to managing the dairy farm at Tivoli Farm. But it seems they may not have left the business of spirits.  . Long time Paoli jeweler, Walter Cook, recalled “going for a drive in the country” with his father in the thirties.  The drives always ended with his father and many other fathers going down to the basement while the boys played in the fields behind the house. Walter averred the outside entrance to the basement was the entrance to a speakeasy. Visitors on the House Tour will enjoy visiting the 19th century summer home of the Gretz beer brewing family.

Tivoli Farm is one of the eight stops on the 7^th Annual Historic House Tour. The House Tour is Saturday, September 24, 12 Noon – 5 PM, Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online at www.tredyffrinhistory.org  

For further details on the House Tour, click here.